lordofthefish

I'm sure that the fish have been through much worse just to get to the store, even the ones that aren't feeders. Handling them with your hands or keeping them out of the water for a minute is very unlikely to kill them. As for the two dead fish that ended up in your bag, they were probably already dead in the tank. If you want to end the "torture" that fish go through, perhaps stop keeping fish.

Just wondering if you could explain the difference between henlei and leopoldi? I have heard the whole "spots on the ventral disc" thing, but have seen pictures of both types of rays with those spots. Could you give any more info? Thanks

A quote from Ad Konings' "Enjoying Cichlids" 2nd Edition. Kjell Fohrman writes, "Another factor that may lead to upset intestines in your cichlids is a sudden change in the type of food. If you have fed your fishes for a long period with quickly digestible food, such as flake food for instance, and then in the space of a day switch to e.g. Mysis (a highly recommended fish food), the fishes may have initial problems and be particularly vulnerable to diseases. Even when new food is much better and closer to the natural food of the cichlids you must change their diet gradually." Kjell Fohrman has over 25 years keeping cichlids including being the president of the Scandinavian Cichlid Association and the editor of "Ciklidbladet". He also publishes the "Back to Nature" books. Here is a prime example of "peeps" who clearly know nothing about the dietary requirements of fish or more specifically african cichlids. Obviously, I am being sarcastic. I also remember reading a post on the NLS forums in which RD also initially gradually switched his fish over to straight NLS feedings. He was simply being careful, and rightly so with the quality of fish he was dealing with. I am not attempting to attack the quality of NLS (lest I be murdered online), only to suggest that there is nothing wrong with being careful in feeding your fish. Carefully switching over to NLS will not hurt the fish and many experts agree that variety is a good thing. You can see the proof of the NLS in the pictures. Fish thrive and explode in colour with this food. But you can also find pictures of stunning fish that have never been fed NLS but a variety of other foods. I think it is okay for people to be careful with their fish. Nothing Rick is doing will kill his fish. I don't think that we need to attack people who have kept cichlids successfully for many years and continue to be leaders in this area.